Asked in Personal Injury and Wrongful Death for Virginia

Q: My aunt was killed in a car wreck in Virginia. It was the other drivers fault.

The driver at fault also died and was in a company owned vehicle. Should I wait till their insurance offers a settlement before hiring an attorney. I'm my aunt's beneficiary. She had no children and was widowed

3 Lawyer Answers
David Alan Wolf
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A: Wrongful death cases can be quite complicated. An estate will need to be set up. You should at least schedule a free consultation with a local personal injury attorney to discuss the law and the applicable legal rights. Insurance companies are well represented by attorneys, investigators, and adjusters. You should have an advocate on your side in the form of a personal injury attorney to look after your best interest. Sorry for your loss and good luck.

T. Andrew Miller
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A: If you want to maximize the settlement, you should consult with an attorney as soon as possible. The insurance company treats claims of unrepresented people differently than they do claims of people with lawyers. I’ll top of that there is a right and a wrong way to present a claim of this nature, and it will certainly affect the outcome.

A: First of all, I want to say that I am sorry for your loss. Losing a loved one, regardless of the cause, can be traumatic and I'm sure that you have a lot of questions. There are lots of questions that need to be posed to you before giving you the advice that you deserve. They include the circumstances of the collision, the attending circumstances, your relationship, and the status of the estate.

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